| Knot Basics Knot tying can be both an art form and a means to an end. |
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Sailors have an idomatic language of their own which provides about everything needed for a discusion of Knots. A splice is put in , a hitch is made fast, or taken, two ropes are bent together, a knot is put in, made, or cast in a rope. A sailor takes a turn he belays; he claps on a stopper, he slacks away, and casts off a line. He clears a tangle, he opens a jammed knot, and he works a Turk's-Head or a sinnet. But the only time he actually ties is when his voyage is over, he ties up to a wharf. The word tie is used so seldom by the sailor only becuse it is too general a term for daily use, where something specific is almost always called for. But when a sailor refers to the subject as a whole he always speaks of "tying knots" or "knot tying". Clifford W Ashley the Ashley Book of Knots.
For the purpose of Knot Basics, all terms used are the traditional sailing terms applied to the purpose for which the word was invented. This includes materials used to tie knots which are classed into five main sizes Rope, Cord, Twine, Yarn and Thread. Each come in a variety of types dependant of the use and can be thought of in three parts:
It is from these five materials that the majority of knots are made. Each material can also be thought of in this way. Rope is generally over 25mm in diameter. However, sometimes material considerablely thinner is called rope as is the case with climbing and modern small craft sailors. Materials less that 25mm in diameter but greater than 3mm is cord. Twine is usually between 1mm and 3mm in diameter and threads and yarn are all less than 2mm. For more information on this please see Tools Used.(Currently under construction) Knots is the term applied generally to the manipulation of rope, cord or yarn into simple or intricate designs. The results depending on the type of knot cast can be for specific purposes or used as decoration. Exceptions are when stowing or accidental messes occur. In which case the material would be in coils, hanks, skeins, balls or reels for stowing or storing ropes, cord, twine, yarns and thread. Tangles, snarls and kinks is used when a mess occurs. Knots are divided into four main catgories. Each category can be further subdivided. For the categories and sub-divisions I have use the common terms used traditionally by sailors around the world.
All bends, hitches and knots can be single or multiple strand. Splices are all multiple strand and can be either a bend or a loop. Bends - include splices and is a term used for lengthening rope. The splice would automatically be multiple strand. This would not include an eye splice that has been tied in the end of a rope. In which case it would be a multi-strand loop. However, there are some exceptions to this rule. These are when a sailor uses the term bend for fixing a line to a spar or an anchor. In which cases the knot used are hitches. He also uses the term bend when bending a sail to a spar or stay. Noteable examples of hitches that are bends are the Studding halyard bend, Fisherman's Bend and the Roband hitch. There are a number of varieties of the Roband hitch. These will be discused in sailing knots Hitches are knots tied to an object. E.g. tying a horse, cow, boat or anything else to a post, bollard, rail, fence or other object with the exception of bends that are hitches. All hitches are dependant on the object it is tied too and most will collapse or capsize if removed from its support. Knots is used to describe all intricacies in a rope from two strands that have crossed to a complex
knot such as a turks head. Under Knots you will find Knobs they are an elaborate design to
prevent a knot from coming undone. Knobs contain two categories stopper and button.
 EndYou will find examples of this knot in the lace ends on sailors deckshoes and ends of rope aboard most sailing vessels. Most Stopper knots are larger than the example used to stop rope from running out of blocks, cleats, deadeyes, pulleys, snap locks and tackle |
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The ends of Button knots on the other hand come out parallel with the standing part. In the before example shown below you can see the end of the cord just inside the lower right hand loops. The standing part has not been cut off. Once worked the standing part and the end will be parallel with each other. |
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Once the knot has been worked to its finished shape you can see how attractive the knot is. The picture below shows where the end and standing part comes out of the knot. It also shows the difference between a knot tied as a stopper knot used as a terminal knot and a knot tied as a button knot. After the standing part has been cut off the trailing ends would then be used to sew the knot into an item of clothing or other article ready for use. |
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